
Class JL 6 &4=__ 
Book , I] a, §3JLs 



jrfS°j^ ESS } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / 



Document 
No. 1857 






' 1% 



JAMES H. DAVIDSON 

(Late a Representative from Wisconsin) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

r .LIVERED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE 

OF THE UNITED STATES 



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SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS 
THIRD SESSION 



Proceedings in the House 
February 16, 1919 



Proceedings in the Senate 
March 2, 1919 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 



XM 



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WASHINGTON 

1919 







B7 •* B« 

iuL r 1929 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 5,8 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. John J. Esch, of Wisconsin 11 

Mr. William H. Stafford, of Wisconsin 15 

Mr. James A. Frear, of Wisconsin 18 

Mr. Edward Voigt, of Wisconsin 20 

Mr. David G. Classon, of Wisconsin 23 

Mr. Florian Lampert, of Wisconsin 25 

Mr. William J. Cary, of Wisconsin 29 

Mr. Adolphus P. Nelson, of Wisconsin 31 

Proceedings in the Senate 33 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Robert M. La Follette, of Wisconsin 37 

Mr. Joseph E. Ransdell, of Louisiana 40 

Mr. Wesley L. Jones, of Washington 44 

Mr. Joseph T. Robinson, of Arkansas 46 

Mr. John W. Weeks, of Massachusetts 49 

Mr. Charles E. Townsend, of Michigan 52 

Mr. Irvine L. Lenroot, of Wisconsin 56 



[3] 




J^ 4% 



HON. JAMES H.DAVJDSON 



DEATH OF HON. JAMES H. DAVIDSON 



Proceedings in the House of Representatives 

Thursday, August 8, 1918. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer : 

Infinite Spirit, our Heavenly Father, in the onward 
sweep of time conditions are continually changing in the 
affairs of men, sometimes to their good, sometimes to 
their hurt; but Thou art ever the same, ministering con- 
tinually to their needs, pouring out Thy love in behalf of 
Thy children. Rut man is selfish, egotistical, grasping, 
self-seeking, and strangely perverse; illustrated by the 
terrible war through which we are passing. Thus man's 
inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn. 

Teach us the simple life, humility, kindness, generosity, 
and nobility of soul, that the world may be a little better 
that we have lived and wrought. 

In the dispensation of Thy Providence a strong, pure, 
noble, wise, and faithful man has been removed by death 
from this legislative body. We mourn his going, but re- 
joice in the fact that we have known him and felt the 
strength of his great soul. Comfort us, his colleagues, 
friends, and those to whom he was nearest and dearest 
with the blessed hope that sometime, somewhere, we shall 
again be blessed by his presence and guided on our way 
by his life and character; after the similitude of the 
world's great Redeemer. Amen. 



[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

Mr. Mondell. Mr. Speaker, it is with profound regret that 
I announce the death of Hon. James H. Davidson, a Repre- 
sentative in Congress from the sixth district of the State 
of Wisconsin, who died in this city yesterday. At a later 
time the House will be asked to lay aside its other busi- 
ness for the purpose of holding a memorial service in 
honor of the life, character, and distinguished public 
services of Mr. Davidson. 

I offer the following resolution. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from Wyo- 
ming offers a resolution, which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. James H. Davidson, a Representative from the 
State of Wisconsin. 

Resolved, That a committee of 16 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary 
expenses in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent 
fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The resolution was agreed to; and the Speaker pro tem- 
pore appointed as the committee on the part of the House 
Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin, Mr. Esch, Mr. Stafford, Mr. Nel- 
son, Mr. Cary, Mr. Frear, Mr. Browne, Mr. Classon, Mr. 
Voigt, Mr. Hamilton of Michigan, Mr. Humphreys, Mr. 
Wilson of Illinois, Mr. McLaughlin of Michigan, Mr. Ken- 
nedy of Iowa, Mr. Gallagher, and Mr. McKenzie. 

Mr. Mondell. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following further 
resolution. 



[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the deceased the 
House do now adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The adjournment will be 
until Monday next. 

Accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 7 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned until Monday, August 12, 1918, at 12 
o'clock noon. 

Thursday, August 15, 1918. 
A message from the Senate, by Mr. Waldorf, one of its 
clerks, announced that the Senate had passed the follow- 
ing resolution: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. James H. Davidson, late a 
Representative from the State of Wisconsin. 

Resolved, That a committee of nine Senators be appointed by 
the Presiding Officer to join the committee appointed on the part 
of the House of Representatives to attend the funeral of the 
deceased. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these 
resolutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of 
the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the deceased 
the Senate do now adjourn. 

Friday, December 27, 1918. 

Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that Sunday, February 16, 1919, be set aside for 
addresses on the life, character, and public services of 
the Hon. James H. Davidson, late a Member of Congress 
from the State of Wisconsin. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Wisconsin asks 
unanimous consent that Sunday, February 16, 1919, be set 



[7] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

aside for memorial services on the life, character, and 
public services of the late Representative James H. David- 
son. Is there objection? 
There was no objection. 

Sunday, February 16, 1919. 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon and was called to 
order by the Speaker pro tempore [Mr. Butler]. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered 
the following prayer: 

Eternal God, our Heavenly Father! 

That God, which ever lives and loves, 

One God, one law, one element, 

And one far-off divine event, 
To which the whole creation moves. 

We thank Thee that the door of the holy of holies is 
ever open to Thy children, where they can commune 
with Thee, find inspiration to guide them in the duties 
of life, consolation for their sorrows, solace for the loss 
of loved ones, and everlasting hope. 

We meet here to-day in memory of four great men, 
who wrought on the floor of this House for their con- 
stituents, their respective States, and the Nation they 
loved. 

May those who knew them best speak from their 
hearts, that their records may be left in the archives of the 
Nation they loved; that others may read and be inspired 
with patriotism and devotion. 

Comfort those who knew and loved them with the 
eternal hope that sometime, somewhere, they shall meet 
them in a land where partings shall be no more and 
love shall find its own; and everlasting praise be Thine, 
through Him who demonstrated that life is stronger than 
death. Amen. 



[8] 



Proceedings in the House 



The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin, by unanimous consent, 
Ordered, That Sunday, February 16, 1919, be set apart for 
addresses upon the life, character, and public services of Hon. 
James H. Davidson, late a Representative from the State of Wis- 
consin. 

Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I move the adop- 
tion of the resolutions which I send to the Clerk's desk. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the 
resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
Hon. James H. Davidson, late a Member of this House from the 
State of Wisconsin. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public 
career, the House, at the conclusion of the exercises of this day, 
shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to 
the family of the deceased. 

The question was taken and the resolutions were unani- 
mously agreed to. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from Wiscon- 
sin [Mr. Cooper] will please take the chair. 

Mr. Cooper of Wisconsin took the chair. 



[9] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Esch, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: We are met to-day to pay our tribute of 
respect to a departed colleague. It is fitting on such an 
occasion to give expression to our feelings as to the 
life, character, and public services of one of our number 
whose life work has ended, but whose influence and 
good example are destined to abide with us. While no 
longer present in the body, his genial character and 
friendly ministrations have left a lasting impression upon 
our memories. 

Our colleague, the Hon. James H. Davidson, was a native 
of New York, and received his education in that State, 
graduating from the Albany Law School in 1884. Since 
1887 he was a resident of Wisconsin, and prior to enter- 
ing the House had served as district attorney of Green 
Lake County and as city attorney of his home city, Osh- 
kosh. His public duties were performed in such an effi- 
cient and conscientious manner as to win the respect and 
confidence of the people and resulted in his election to the 
Fifty-fifth Congress and each succeeding Congress, includ- 
ing the Sixty-second. He was defeated for reelection to 
the Sixty-third Congress after having had the distinction, 
with one exception, of holding in our State the record of 
continuous service in the House for 16 years. Mr. David- 
son's retention in office was a fine illustration of the fact 
that Wisconsin was learning the lesson, long taught by 
Maine and many of the Southern States, that longevity in 
service is the surest way to secure prestige and influence 
in the councils of the Nation. While none of us can ad- 



[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

vocate this policy without being charged with being actu- 
ated by a selfish motive, the fact remains, and the rec- 
ords of this House abundantly prove, that the chairman- 
ships and the power and influence they assure and the 
places of leadership go to men of long and continuous 
service. 

Had Mr. Davidson been elected to the Sixty-third Con- 
gress he would have been the ranking Republican on the 
important Committee on Rivers and Harbors. His long 
membership on this committee made him an expert on 
water transportation matters, and no one doubted his 
qualifications for the chairmanship had his party re- 
mained in power. His work on this committee was char- 
acterized by conservatism and sound judgment, and the 
fact that his district bordered on Lake Michigan stimu- 
lated in him an ambition to master the navigation needs 
of the Great Lakes. His vision, however, was too broad to 
be limited to the horizon of his own district or State. By 
extensive travel and painstaking investigation he sought 
to understand and meet the problems of all parts of the 
United States. 

For many years, and while a member of the Committee 
on Rivers and Harbors, he was also chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Railways and Canals, and, while this is one of 
the minor committees of the House, it enabled him to 
study the intimate relationship between rail and water 
transportation, a subject now of supreme importance. 

After an absence of four years Mr. Davidson was elected 
to the present Congress and was honored by an appoint- 
ment upon the Committee on Military Affairs, one of the 
most important committees in this war Congress. Its 
labors began with the calling of the special session on 
April 2, 1917, and had continued almost without interrup- 
tion up to the time of his death, in August of last year. 



[12] 



Address of Mr. Esch, of Wisconsin 



Wisconsin during the 71 years of her statehood has sent 
105 different Members to this House. Among these were 
men who attained national prominence. Doty, Wash- 
burn, Rusk, and La Follette became governors, while 
Durkee, Sawyer, Mitchel, La Follette, Stephenson, and 
Lenroot became United States Senators. Rusk was also 
appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President Harri- 
son. In this group of distinguished men we readily give 
to our deceased colleague an honorable place. While 
no leading act of legislation can be placed to his credit, he 
was ever mindful of the needs and best interests of his 
constituents. Representing a district largely devoted to 
dairying, he was influential in protecting this industry by 
aiding in the framing and enactment of the oleomargarine 
act. Having hundreds of Civil and Spanish War soldiers 
as constituents, he worked diligently in their behalf. No 
request made of him went unheeded; no letter remained 
unanswered. 

Mr. Davidson was an able and earnest speaker. On the 
all too rare occasions when he occupied the floor he com- 
manded the attention of the House by his mastery of facts 
and clearness of presentation. In public speaking he 
never stooped to demagogic appeal, but through fairness 
to those who opposed him sought to win his cause. While 
neither aggressive nor radical by disposition, he stood by 
his convictions. In all things he was patriotic and honest 
and his word was unquestioned. Whatever fate befell 
him he accepted it with the spirit of a true philosopher. 
His geniality, modesty, and fairness characterized him at 
all times and won for him the love, admiration, and re- 
spect of us all. 

Mr. Davidson loved his home. His domestic life was 
ideal. His wife, two sons, and a daughter were objects of 
his constant and tender solicitude. We who were with 



[13] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

him daily knew the pride he felt in having a son in the 
service. He died too soon to see the fruition of his hopes. 
To those he left behind there goes out from us a feeling of 
profound sympathy. He was in his best years, life had 
yet much of promise for him, and his taking off seems like 
sunset at noonday; and yet we must be reconciled, for 
was not his life in the hands of " Him who doeth all 
things well?" 



[14] 



Address of Mr. Stafford, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: In this Chamber a week ago there gath- 
ered the Members of both Houses of Congress, the only 
living ex-President, members of the Cabinet, members of 
the Supreme Court, and the representatives of the Diplo- 
matic Corps, to do honor to a great American, Theodore 
Roosevelt. We listened with rapt attention to the great 
eulogy delivered by the scholar of the Senate and one of 
the elder statesmen, the Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge. To-day 
we meet to pay the last tribute to the memory of our de- 
parted colleague, the Hon. James H. Davidson. In my 14 
years of service only one other instance has happened, 
that when Hon. Henry C. Adams died, where the State has 
lost a Representative during his service in Congress. 

No Congress in its history has suffered so great a toll in 
the death of Members than this now nearing its close. 
The problems that have required solution, the tenseness 
of situations, the added burdens of legislation and office 
duties, directly traceable to the world war, sapped the vi- 
tality of all, undermined in some instances the strongest 
constitutions, and brought death to a large number. Many 
quaked under the stress and strain, and I fear my col- 
league Davidson was one of this number. 

In the maelstrom of congressional life it is not the rule, 
no matter how long you are associated, to learn much 
about the lives and careers of Members before their en- 
trance to Congress. My estimate of James H. Davidson is 
limited to my observation of his work since 1903, when I 
first became associated with him. He had preceded me 
three terms, and was then on the Committee on Rivers 
and Harbors. Here he served under the master mind 
and leader, Hon. Theodore E. Burton, chairman of the 
committee. Even at that early day, which position be- 



[15] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

came more pronounced as his services continued, David- 
son was regarded as an authority on river and harbor im- 
provements. 

According to the unwritten rule in Congress, he gave 
first consideration to his committee work. This engrossed 
the major portion of his legislative time; but he was alert 
to give close attention to the demands of his district. No 
Member could have achieved the distinction, which was 
his, to have served continuously for 16 years without hav- 
ing reflected truly the best expression of his district. 

He was modest and unassuming, and yet in debate he 
was a forcible speaker. When he spoke he commanded 
and held the attention of the House. In Congress bril- 
liancy counts less than good judgment and willingness to 
work. The esteem in which he was held by his colleagues 
was in one instance exemplified upon his reelection to 
Congress after an interregnum of four years. Though 
the membership of the House had changed in the interim, 
the record he had made of conscientious application to 
duty and of rare judgment brought him appointment to 
the only vacancy on the important Committee on Mili- 
tary Affairs. Many sought this position because of its 
great vantage in shaping the Government's military pol- 
icy during the world war, into which we were then just 
entering. Because he had voted his convictions on all 
questions relating to the war, and had voted against the 
declaration of war, no Member in the House questioned 
his appointment on this committee or ever doubted his 
loyalty to his Government after Congress declared war. 

Then came the heavy work in the Committee on Mili- 
tary Affairs, the making ready where our country was so 
ill prepared to bring success to our standard on the Euro- 
pean field of battle. For more than a year he toiled cease- 
lessly in committee to provide adequately the sinews of 



[16] 



Address of Mr. Stafford, of Wisconsin 

war that brought about ultimate victory. It was under 
this heavy strain that he quaked. He had extracted too 
much from nature's reservoir, and, as is so often the case, 
after long unrequited service, he found his health under- 
mined just as the Congress was about to take a much- 
needed rest to permit of the restoration of health to Mem- 
bers after the exacting service. But he had been too faith- 
ful a public servant; he had drained the cup of life in his 
country's cause, and death came suddenly to his exhausted 
body. 

I wonder whether his constituents knew and appre- 
ciated the sacrifice and work in his country's cause which 
brought his life to this untimely end. 



115670°— 10 2 [17] 



Address of Mr. Frear, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: As has been just stated by my colleague, 
this great Hall was filled last week with a distinguished 
assemblage gathered to do homage to that great American, 
Theodore Roosevelt, a good man whose impress has been 
left upon the lives of those of his own day and generation 
and upon the history of our country. 

In this same historical Hall, which has been the scene of 
another statesman's labors for nearly a score of years, 
we again gather to do homage to that lovable man who in 
like manner was an honored public servant, cut down in 
his prime and during the period of his greatest usefulness. 

Our former colleague, James H. Davidson, would have 
wished for no higher eulogy than to be remembered as a 
friend of men. Of splendid attainments and of strong at- 
tractive personality, he was known throughout his own 
loved State of Wisconsin and in this great legislative body 
as an able, patriotic, conscientious Representative, who 
made the cause of his people and of his country his own. 

Men are useful to the world in which they move accord- 
ing to their opportunity to serve and their willingness to 
serve whole-heartedly and effectively. Measured by that 
simple standard, no man was more honest or faithful in 
his performance of public duties than our colleague, 
James H. Davidson, and few men will be more missed 
from his circle of immediate friends than our friend in 
whose memory we meet to speak to-day. 

Coming from the home district of distinguished public 
men of former years, including Senator Sawyer, Gen. 
Bragg, and " Gabe " Bouck, all notable men once familiar 
to these Halls, we who knew " Jim " Davidson recognized 
in him a faithful representative of a strong people and a 
worthy successor of those who had gone before. 



[18] 



Address of Mr. Frear, of Wisconsin 

Stricken down at a time when his services on the great 
Military Committee would have heen of great value to 
that committee and to his country, during the midst of 
war, and before our armies had been able to take active 
part in the great conflict, he actively joined in preparing 
us for the struggle and then dropped out from our circle 
before many of us realized his serious illness. 

His wife and loved ones, so suddenly bereft, lost a de- 
voted husband and an affectionate father, while we, his 
associates, lost an able colleague and friend, and his State, 
together with this great legislative body in which he so 
long and honorably served, lost a faithful and distin- 
guished public servant. 

Warm-hearted and gentle by nature, he was yet strong 
in his convictions. I well remember his firm stand on 
grave public matters wherein momentous questions were 
involved, and his associates will bear testimony that he 
ever performed his public duties with fearless, conscien- 
tious judgment, unaffected by personal considerations. 
No higher praise need be awarded any man. 

As we go along the pathway of life, passing so rapidly 
on the downward stretch of the last half that we find the 
mileposts confronting us with ever-increasing frequency, 
we learn that he who gives the best that is in him for the 
good of others, who dedicates himself to the service of 
those about him, finds in that same service a pleasure and 
a contentment that is the certain reward of giving. 

Such was the philosophy, under divine guidance, of our 
colleague, whose self-sacrifice and efforts to serve those 
about him made him so greatly esteemed by his fellows. 
He was high-minded and a strong man among men — a 
man whose place can not be filled, and a friend who will 
never be forgotten. 



[19] 



Address or Mr. Voigt, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: The first Member of this House who ex- 
tended to me the hand of welcome and fellowship was our 
deceased colleague, James H. Davidson. Shortly after my 
election in 1916 I received a letter from Mr. Davidson, 
whose district and mine were adjoining, in which he 
offered his assistance in acquainting me with the duties of 
my new office. Later on he invited me and another new 
Member-elect to visit him at his home city of Oshkosh. 
We gladly availed ourselves of his kindness and spent 
some enjoyable and profitable hours with him. I had 
made a mental memorandum of innumerable points on 
which I sought light. When I recall now all the questions 
with which I plied him I say he had a right to consider me 
green indeed. If he did, he did not show it, but answered 
all my questions with sympathetic courtesy and patience. 

From that day on Mr. Davudson and I became warm 
friends, and, like other men who have counseled and 
aided me when I stood in need, I shall always hold him 
in grateful remembrance. 

Our deceased friend was born at Downsville, N. Y., in 
1858. Like many men who have attained prominence, he 
taught school and studied law. He graduated from the 
Albany Law School in 1884. Three years later, following 
the advice to " go West, young man," he moved to Prince- 
ton, Wis., and opened a law office. In 1888 he was elected 
district attorney of his county, and from that time until 
his death he was in the political arena. In 1892 he re- 
moved to Oshkosh, one of the largest cities of Wiscon- 
sin, where there was greater opportunity for the display 
of his powers. In 1896 he was elected a Member of the 
Fifty-fifth Congress, and was reelected for seven consecu- 



[20] 



Address of Mr. Voigt, of Wisconsin 

tive terms, serving his constituency from 1897 to 1913. He 
was defeated in his candidacy for the Sixty-third and 
Sixty-fourth Congresses, but was reelected to the Sixty- 
fifth. 

His long service as a Member of this House is almost a 
conclusive testimonial to his ability and integrity as a 
representative of the people and as a man. An election 
to this body is in itself evidence of character and ability, 
but an election for nine terms is an indorsement of public 
duty ably and conscientiously performed, to add to which 
would be mere surplusage. The people whom he repre- 
sented knew him best, and notwithstanding the onslaughts 
which political campaigns bring on they honored him time 
and again by commissioning him as their Representative 
here. 

After I came to Washington as a Member of the Sixty- 
fifth Congress I had the good fortune to associate with 
our deceased colleague almost daily. I frequently sought 
his advice in matters of routine and discussed with him 
some of the questions of the day. He was always cour- 
teous and willing to be of assistance in any way he could, 
and I considered it a privilege to feel that I might go to 
him at any time and get the benefit of his many years of 
experience. 

Mr. Davidson was a man who was modest and retiring 
in his disposition, but he possessed firm will power. He 
was no friend of bombast and sham. He had a strong 
sense of right and duty, and his sole aim was to let his 
every act be for the best interests of his constituents and 
his country. 

For some months before his death it was apparent to 
our delegation that our deceased friend was in failing 
health, although none of us realized that he would soon 
be with us no more. He bore his ailment with great forti- 



[21] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

tude, and rarely complained. During this time he fre- 
quently expressed to me solicitude for his family. He 
was intensely devoted to and proud of his wife and his 
two sons and daughter. To his bereaved family our 
sympathy goes out to-day. 

Our deceased colleague died here in Washington on 
August 6 last. It was my privilege to be in the con- 
gressional party that attended the last rites at his home. 
Here were assembled many of his friends, with whom we 
joined in paying a tribute of respect and affection. With 
simple and impressive ceremonies the mortal remains of 
James H. Davidson were laid away among murmuring 
trees and beneath a wealth of flowers, but his spirit will 
always be with us. 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Classon, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: Unfortunately, I did not know James H. 
Davidson very long. 

I say unfortunately because I knew him long enough 
and well enough to realize that it would have been rare 
good fortune to have known him longer and better. 

I first met him when he was a practicing lawyer and 
city attorney of Oshkosh, before his first election to Con- 
gress, which occurred in 1896, more than 22 years ago. 

From that time I never saw him until he had again been 
elected after being out of Congress for four years. 

I had just been elected and went to Oshkosh to see him 
and talk with him about some things which I wanted to 
learn about before coming to Washington. My reception 
and treatment by Mr. Davidson at that time made an 
impression upon me which led me to resolve that I would 
become better acquainted with him — which I did — and 
I may say that our relations were rather intimate during 
the months of the special session and those of the regular 
session before he became too ill to attend to his duties. 

Many men from his own and other States who were 
Members of the House during his first period of service, 
which covered 16 years, can and do testify to his faithful, 
painstaking, and able work here. 

I know that his district is one containing varied and im- 
portant industries and includes several of the principal 
cities of Wisconsin, and that in it are many men of ability 
and high standing, and the fact that such a constituency 
was content to be served for years by him demonstrates 
the satisfaction which he gave to his people as a national 
legislator and the confidence which they reposed in him; 
and the fact that he was returned after an interval of four 
years, during which period he was the nominee of his 



[23] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

party in two unsuccessful contests, shows that he was con- 
sidered a fit and popular standard bearer of his party. 

It is of the side of Mr. Davidson that I knew best that I 
wish to speak for a moment. He was a man of unfailing 
courtesy and kindness of heart, always considerate of 
others, absolutely conscientious, and with the highest 
moral courage; devoted to his duty and to his family and 
his friends; and I have never yet seen a man, woman, or 
child who knew Jim Davidson who was not his friend. 

Naturally, he had sharp political and other differences 
of opinion with many people, but such differences never 
caused anyone to lose his admiration for him as a clean 
and honorable opponent and a courteous, high-minded, 
lovable gentleman. 

Mr. Speaker, I can say only that which I know. I knew 
him and loved him, and those who knew him loved him 
and miss him. 

His life and death were a beautiful fulfillment of the ad- 
monition of the poet — 

So live, that, when thy summons comes to join 

The innumerable caravan, that moves 

To that mysterious realm where each shall take 

His chamber in the silent halls of death, 

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night 

Scouraged to his dungeon; but sustained and soothed 

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. 



[24] 



Address of Mb. Lampert, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker : I wish to speak briefly of James H. David- 
son as a man. For 26 years I have known him well. It 
has been my good fortune to have been associated with 
him in many ways and to have known his reaction to 
many different circumstances. 

James H. Davidson loved people. His home life was 
beautiful. As husband and father he counseled and ad- 
vised. He felt and knew that each must live his own life 
and that there is, therefore, no place for a dictator where 
democracy is or is to be. 

He used to walk to and from his office along Algoma 
Street. There was always a cheery greeting for every- 
one — a wave of the hand, a smile, and a word. This did 
not come from habit, nor was it assumed. It was the 
genuine expression of his love for folks. Farmers used to 
go up to his office just to greet him, and go away again 
reassured that Jim Davidson was just as human as ever. 

And he loved his town and his State and his country 
and all mankind in the same sincere, human way. You 
could not shake his hand and look into his kindly eye 
without knowing that he had a philosophy of life that 
was genuinely human through and through. 

And therefore he had friends wherever he was known. 
The newsboy, the bootblack, the mill hand, the lumber- 
jack, the storekeeper, the farmer, the captain of industry, 
the minister, the statesman, all knew Jim Davidson and 
loved him. He had many opponents, but no enemies. 
This was not because he lacked clear judgment or because 
he lacked will power. On the contrary, his judgment was 
clear and farseeing; his mind, once made up, was constant 
and unswerving. He saw the big things in big ways, and 
he also saw in each person that he met the substantial 



[25] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

and fundamental elements that make human life a thing 
of priceless value. 

And so he went about his work in a kindly, sympathetic, 
farseeing way. He refused to be troubled because some 
things did not go just as he thought they ought to go, for 
he knew that his way was not the only way, his view was 
not the only view. This explains that almost unexampled 
consideration which he showed, and also that gentleman- 
liness which was so characteristic of him. He was 
schooled in the forms of politeness, but he was never for- 
mal. Politeness and gentlemanly conduct were as natural 
with him as was the beating of his heart. 

James H. Davidson was a man to whom *hose in trouble 
instinctively turned, and never in vain. It was not that 
people expected him to remove the cause of their trouble 
so much as it was that they knew he could help them to 
adjust themselves to a changed world in a reasonable 
way. His advice and counsel were sought on all sorts of 
troubles, for he knew how to find the brighter side. He 
knew and lived the philosophy which Longfellow ex- 
pressed in his poem, The Rainy Day; that philosophy 
which led Garfield to say to that great crowd in New York 
immediately after the assassination of Lincoln: "God 
reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives." 

It was this faith in the final outcome of things, this faith 
in the integrity of the human soul, that gave him his poise 
and his balance. He was serene and undisturbed by 
things which caused frenzy in some who had less interest 
in the outcome than had he. He never lost command of 
himself, and therefore he never lost the confidence and 
respect of those with whom he was associated. He did 
not have to retract and explain and start anew. Instead 
he kept steadily on, gaining every day in knowledge, in 
insight, in power, and in genuine worth. 



[26J 



Address of Mr. Lampert, of Wisconsin 

He was an incessant worker. He wanted to know all 
that was to be known about the subjects that came to his 
congressional committees. If a new woodworking ma- 
chine had been installed in one of the factories of his 
home town during his absence, he wanted to know all 
about it. And in all that touched his life, and especially 
in all of that for which as a public servant he had a 
responsibility, he sought information, knowledge, and un- 
derstanding. He never formed snap judgments, and he 
was not ashamed to say that he did not know. He was 
devoted to the underlying truth of things, to which even 
his partisanship never blinded him. 

And it was thus that he developed a judicial attitude of 
mind. He weighed the pros and cons of things, turned 
them over in his keen and fertile mind, and thus reached 
conclusions that were sound. He was never wrong on 
great, fundamental issues. 

And thus he was a self-made man — not simply in the 
sense that he sought and struggled and won, but in that 
deeper sense which means that through his efforts he be- 
came one of God's noblemen, " fed from within with all 
the strength he needs." 

Such a man is loyalty itself. He saw the faults of men, 
but he estimated men in terms of their virtues. He was a 
party man because he saw that only through parties can 
come that adjustment and readjustment of social rela- 
tionships winch spells progress; and therefore, while he 
was a party man, he regarded his party as a means to an 
end that was greater than the party. That end was to him 
the welfare of his country, of our democracy. And even 
beyond all this was an abiding faith in the brother- 
hood of man, in the fatherhood of God. Matrixed in this 
faith, he was always loyal to those things which square 
with it. 



[27] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

Kindly, sincere, clear-sighted, conscientious, consider- 
ate, gentlemanly, sound, loyal — such he was when the 
Angel of Death summoned him from our midst. And now 
he sleeps in the bosom of Mother Earth, beside the river 
he loved so well, missed and mourned by those whom he 
had loved and helped — sleeps until God shall call him 
home. 

At this point Mr. Butler resumed the chair. 

Mr. Esch. Mr. Speaker, in view of the fact that some 
Members are not present, I ask unanimous consent that an 
opportunity may be afforded to all Members to insert 
remarks in the Record on the life, character, and public 
services of the Hon. James H. Davidson. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Without objection, the re- 
quest will be granted. 

There was no objection. 



[28] 



Address of Mr. Cary, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: We are again gathered to pay our last 
tribute of respect to one who has gone from us to join the 
vast silent majority that have crossed the river of death. 

I wish to add my tribute to those of my colleagues who 
have so ably described the worth and manhood of James 
H. Davidson and to lay upon his grave the wreath of 
kindly memory that he so well deserved. It was my privi- 
lege to meet him in the Sixtieth Congress. I was a new 
Member and he an old one, and I shall long remember his 
cordial welcome to me and the helping hand he extended 
in advising and counseling his new confrere from the 
Badger State. 

James H. Davidson had the sturdy common sense and 
rugged sincerity that came to him as a priceless inherit- 
ance from his ancestors, and living as he did in the robust 
and liberty-breathing air of the great Northwest he par- 
took of all the characteristics that make the men of the 
forests of Wisconsin such splendid citizens of a splendid 
country. 

He was an ardent and consistent Republican, but free 
from all that was narrow in his partisanship; he placed a 
true and steadfast Americanism above all party creeds, 
and was never afraid to voice his convictions on all public 
questions as his own conscience dictated. He was de- 
feated a few years ago, and those of us who had remained 
were glad, indeed, when the news came that he had been 
returned, and we found our old friend and colleague the 
same genial, rugged, and sincere man who had left us for 
a season. But he did not remain with us long. He " came 
back " triumphantly, but it was but for a little space, and 
then, in the full vigor of his manhood, he was stricken and 
died practically in harness. 

[29] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Davidson 

All that is left now of James Davidson is the memory of 
his manly character and the name he has left hehind him, 
but it is the priceless heritage of an unstained reputation 
that he has left and a name that will be remembered as 
long as honest worth, sincerity, and integrity are hall- 
marks of gentility in a Republic that does not depend on 
the quarterings of heraldry to make her noblemen and 
aristocracy. 

Robert Rurns has well said : 

A king can mak a belted knight, 

A marquis, duke, and a' that, 
But an honest man's abuin his might, 

Guid faith he mauna fa' that, 
For a' that and a' that, 

Their riband, star, and a' that, 
The rank is but the guinea's stamp, 

The mon's the gowd for a' that. 

So let us, as we stand beside the bier of one who has 
gone before, see in his life and death the lesson that in 
this country of ours a reputation based on honesty and 
sincerity is worth more than the ratings of a commercial 
agency or the accolade of a monarch; that the confidence 
of a constituency and the respect of a community is worth 
more than a patent of nobility; and that in this democ- 
racy of ours we shall still build monuments to those who 
hold fast, as James H. Davidson did, to the simple, sturdy 
virtues that have made our country the hope of the world, 
the despair of the tyrant, and the last abiding place of the 
spirit of freedom that shall never die while America holds 
her place among the nations of the earth. 



[30] 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: As a citizen of Wisconsin, I have known 
for many years of the large and eminent services of our 
colleague, the late Hon. James H. Davidson, and wish 
to-day to bear testimony of his noble life and distin- 
guished career, always devoted to the best interests of his 
district, his State, and his country. 

Though stricken in the very prime of life, he had still 
wrought long enough and well enough to leave his mem- 
ory and services indelibly impressed upon his associates, 
his State, and his Nation. Such men never die. 

His kind, genial, and manly spirit teaches us to-day that 
" honest toil is holy service, faithful work is praise and 
fame." 

James H. Davidson was known as an able and conscien- 
tious legislator and a tireless worker, and brought to bear 
both in the committee room and upon the floor of the 
House rare judgment and efficient leadership. He stood 
ready always to do his best when duty called. He taught 
us to carry hopeful hearts and cheerful brows, and that we 
must mold the life of our Nation by the force of great 
moral ideals, and rule through the royalty of principle 
that can never be discrowned. 

His public life, as well as his private life, was marked 
by a purpose of real service and uplift in which sacrifice of 
self was never considered but freely spent for those he 
loved and served. The words of the great Christ find a 
rare application in the life of our lamented colleague 
when he said, " Whosoever will be great among you, let 
him be your minister, and whosever will be chief among 
you, let him be your servant." 

James H. Davidson was happiest when he could be of the 
greatest service to his fellow men and his country. He 



[31] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

always resolved to exert to his utmost his rare mental and 
physical powers to the end that there might be main- 
tained in this world a permanent Christian civilization 
and life. Our friend and colleague, always true in his 
fellowship, tender in his sympathy, and noble in his ideals, 
will continue to live and to bless the world. 

We bow at his grave to-day with profound sorrow and 
mingle our grief with the grief of his family and of those 
who knew and loved him best, and sincerely mourn the 
loss, in the very prime of life, of one of Wisconsin's 
noblest sons, of whom it may well be said : 

"We live in deeds, not years, in thoughts, not breaths; 
In feelings, not in figures on a dial. 
We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives 
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. 
Life is but a means unto an end; that end 
Beginning, mean and end to all things — God." 

Then, in accordance with the resolution previously 
adopted, the House (at 5 o'clock and 20 minutes p. m.) 
adjourned until Monday, February 17, 1919, at 11 o'clock 
a. m. 



[32] 



Proceedings in the Senate 

Monday, August 12, 1918. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by G. F. 
Turner, one of its clerks, communicated to the Senate the 
intelligence of the death of Hon. James H. Davidson, late 
a Representative from the State of Wisconsin, and trans- 
mitted resolutions of the House thereon. 

Mr. Curtis. I ask that the resolutions of the House of 
Representatives be laid before the Senate. 

The Presiding Officer. The Chair lays before the Sen- 
ate resolutions of the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows : 

In the House of Representatives, 

August 8, 1918. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. James H. Davidson, a Representative from the 
State of Wisconsin. 

Resolved, That a committee of 16 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary 
expenses in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent 
fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Curtis. Mr. President, I offer the following resolu- 
tions and ask for their adoption. 

The resolutions (S. Res. 290) were read, considered by 
unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as fol- 
lows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. James H. Davidson, late a 
Representative from the State of Wisconsin. 

115670°— 19 3 {33] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

Resolved, That a committee of nine Senators be appointed by 
the Presiding Officer to join the committee appointed on the part 
of the House of Representatives to attend the funeral of the 
deceased. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these 
resolutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of 
the deceased. 

Mr. Curtis. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect 
to the memory of the deceased Representative I move that 
the Senate adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 2 
o'clock p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Thursday, Au- 
gust 15, 1918, at 12 o'clock meridian. 

Friday, February 7, 1919. 
Mr. La Follette. Mr. President, I give notice that at 
the proper time I shall move for a session of the Senate 
on Sunday, the 23d of February, to be devoted to memorial 
exercises for the late Senator Husting and the late Repre- 
sentative Davidson, of Wisconsin. 

Saturday, February 22, 1919. 
Mr. La Follette. Mr. President, I understand that it is 
probable that there will be a very late session of the Sen- 
ate to-night, and at the request of a number of Senators 
who expected to take part in the memorial exercises 
which it had been planned to hold to-morrow in commem- 
oration of the life, character, and services of the late Sena- 
tor Husting and of the late Representative Davidson, both 
of Wisconsin, I want to ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate hold a session beginning at 1 o'clock on the 2d of 
March to be devoted to the exercises that were expected to 
have been held to-morrow. I do this, I repeat, at the re- 
quest of a number of Senators who had expected to take 
part in the exercises to-morrow. I have conferred with the 



[34] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



senior Senator from Virginia [Mr. Martin] respecting the 
matter and also with the junior Senator from Virginia 
[Mr. Swanson], who was present, and who rather ap- 
proved of that action. 

The Presiding Officer. The Senator from Wisconsin asks 
unanimous consent that the Senate convene on Sunday, 
March 2, for the purpose of holding memorial ceremonies 
in connection with the lives and services of the late Sena- 
tor Husting, of Wisconsin, and the late Representative 
Davidson, of that State, in lieu of the arrangement hereto- 
fore effective for to-morrow. Is there objection to the 
request? The Chair hears none, and it is so ordered. 

Sunday, March 2, 1919. 
Legislative day of Saturday, March 1, 1919. 

The Senate met at 1 o'clock p. m., on the expiration of 
the recess. 

Mr. La Follette. Mr. President, I present the resolutions 
which I send to the desk. 

The Vice President. The resolutions will be read. 

The resolutions (S. Res. 483) were read, considered by 
unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as fol- 
lows: 

Resolved, That the Senate assembles as a mark of respect to 
the memory of Hon. James H. Davidson, late a Representative 
from the State of Wisconsin, in pursuance of an order heretofore 
made, in order that fitting tribute may be paid to his high char- 
acter and distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Senate again expresses its profound sorrow 
at the death of the late Representative from Wisconsin. 

Resolved, That the Secretary transmit a copy of these resolu- 
tions to the House of Representatives and to the family of the 
deceased. 



[35] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. La Follette, of Wisconsin 

Mr. President: We are here to-day to express the es- 
teem and affection we felt for the Hon. James H. Davidson 
in his lifetime and to manifest the deep respect in which 
we hold his memory. Wisconsin may have had more 
brilliant Representatives in the House than our departed 
friend, but it had none more industrious and certainly 
none more unselfishly devoted to the public service. 

Mr. Davidson was born in Downsville, N. Y., June 18, 
1858. His home was humble. He was always a hard 
worker, no less in youth than in manhood. He received 
his early education in the public schools of his native town 
and supplemented it by a course at the Walton Academy, 
New York. He taught school and later studied law, and 
graduated from the Albany Law School in 1884. 

Shortly afterwards he removed to Wisconsin and began 
the practice of law in Princeton, Green Lake County, in 
that State, in 1887. The citizens of that county soon 
recognized his ability and sterling character and in 1888 
elected him to the office of district attorney. In 1892 he 
removed to Oshkosh, then the second city in size in the 
State, where he continued his successful practice of the 
law, but in a wider field than before. 

Four years after he removed to Oshkosh he wits elected 
to Congress and served through the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth, 
Fifty-seventh, Fifty-eighth, Fifty-ninth, Sixtieth, Sixty- 
first, and Sixty-second Congresses. He was then defeated, 
but in 191G he was reelected again from his old district 
and served in this Congress until his labors were ended by 
his untimely death in August, 1918. 



[37] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

Part of his district bordered on Lake Michigan and he 
was naturally much interested in water transportation. 
Early in his first period of service in the Congress he was 
appointed on the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and 
continued as one of the most valuable members of that 
committee until his defeat for Congress in 1912. Had he 
been returned to the Congress at that time he would have 
been the ranking Republican member of that committee. 
Upon taking his place in the Sixty-fifth Congress he was 
assigned to the Committee on Military Affairs. 

He labored earnestly to keep our country out of war, 
but when we became involved in it no member of the 
committee worked more incessantly or intelligently for 
the success of our arms than did he. It is the opinion of 
many of the intimate friends of Mr. Davidson that it was 
his untiring labor upon this committee which resulted in 
breaking his health and hastening his untimely death. 

This brief mention of some of the leading political 
events of Mr. Davidson's life gives no adequate idea of his 
sterling qualities or substantial achievements in public 
service. Because of his modesty or indifference to per- 
sonal distinction his hardest work was done upon meas- 
ures connected more intimately with the names of other 
men. 

It was Mr. Davidson's untiring work in the committees 
that shaped and perfected much of the legislation origi- 
nating in the great committees of which he was a member. 

While Mr. Davidson knew the vicissitudes of political 
life, he met defeat with the same tranquillity with which 
he accepted victory. He never for a moment lost the con- 
fidence of his party either at home or in Washington, and 
was the nominee of his party under the Wisconsin pri- 
mary election law when he was defeated for election in 
1912 and 1914 in that State, as well as when he was elected 
in 1916. 

[38] 



Address of Mr. La Follette, of Wisconsin 

His genial disposition and manly qualities won him 
friends in all parties and among all classes of people. His 
home was an ideal American home. And it was there he 
found his greatest satisfaction and happiness. A loving 
wife and daughter and two devoted and loving sons have 
been bereaved by the death of our friend, but he has left 
to them the memory of many happy -years of beautiful 
association with him and the example of a life dedicated 
to high ideals and rich with worthy achievements. 



[39] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

Mr. President: I knew Congressman Davidson, of Wis- 
consin, intimately and regarded him as one of my best 
friends in congressional life. We served together on the 
Rivers and Harbors Committee of the House for 12 years 
and always worked together in harmony, our views coin- 
ciding on most questions. During this period the com- 
mittee made several trips to different parts of the country 
in order to inspect personally the projects presented for 
tbeir consideration. These trips were, as a rule, very 
pleasant and instructive in the highest degree, for they 
gave the members of the Rivers and Harbors Committee 
a chance to see the river or harbor or prospective canal 
on which it was proposed to expend, in many instances, 
large sums of money, to talk to the citizens of the locali- 
ties, to visit the cities and important towns, to get an idea 
of the adjacent country, and in a general way to inform 
themselves at first hand before reaching a decision. 

Members of the committee were thrown very closely 
together on these trips, some of which extended from one 
week to three weeks, and excellent opportunities were 
given for becoming thoroughly acquainted with each 
other. Mr. Davidson and I were placed in intimate con- 
tact on several of these tours. 

He was for some time vice president of the national 
rivers and harbors congress, of which I had the honor to 
be president, and took a very active part in its councils. 
He addressed in the most eloquent and persuasive man- 
ner more than one convention of the congress and was 
always one of its truest friends and advisers. Indeed, he 
was one of the principal organizers of this association, 



[40] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

which had its rebirth at the city of Cincinnati in June, 
1905, during a trip of the Rivers and Harbors Committee 
from Pittsburgh to Cairo, one of the most instructive 
and entertaining tours in which it was my privilege to 
participate. 

"Jim," as I called Mr. Davidson, was a true friend of 
the improvement and utilization of the Nation's water- 
ways as carriers of freight and regulators of transporta- 
tion charges. In the work of the Rivers and Harbors 
Committee he was always national in his viewpoint, never 
local or sectional. Though he watched like a hawk every 
interest of Wisconsin and never failed to champion it in 
the most loyal and effective way, he was a friend to every 
project of real merit that found place in river and harbor 
bills during his long service on the committee. 

I was especially grateful for his constructive assistance 
in my pet projects — the improvement of the Ouachita 
River, La. and Ark., by means of locks and dams and 
construction of levees on the Mississippi south of Cairo, 
in order to protect that splendid region from the devas- 
tating floods of the Father of Waters. It was a long, hard 
struggle to secure proper congressional aid for the levee 
system. The fight began a great while before I entered 
Congress, 20 years ago, and is still proceeding. During 
the past 20 years much progress has been made, and to 
no one outside of the valley is more credit due for friendly 
cooperation and assistance than to Congressman Davidson. 

If Jim disapproved of a measure pending before the 
Rivers and Harbors Committee he would fight it hard, 
but if defeated would never exhibit any soreness or com- 
plaining spirit, and thenceforth the project would receive 
his support. I think he had as little animosity in his 
makeup as anyone I have ever known. 



[41] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

It was a great pleasure for Mrs. Ransdell and myself to 
visit at his beautiful home in Oshkosh, where we were en- 
tertained in a most hospitable manner by him and his 
charming wife. This was my first visit to Wisconsin, and 
I enjoyed it thoroughly, thanks to the courtesy and atten- 
tion of Congressman Davidson. 

Another tie between Jim and myself was that he was an 
alumnus of the law school of Union University, at Albany, 
N. Y., having graduated, if I mistake not, in the class of 
1884, while I am an alumnus of Union College, Schenec- 
tady, N. Y., in the class of 1882. Both of us were active 
members of the Union College Alumni Association of this 
city, and both very proud of our alma mater, old Union. 
The university has just cause to mourn his death as one 
of its most distinguished and able sons. 

Jim was a tall, handsome man of very pleasing per- 
sonality. His manners were sedate and quiet. Though 
possessed of great firmness and force of character, he was 
as modest and gentle as a woman, rarely raising his voice 
above an ordinary conversational tone. When aroused, 
however, he was very positive, and on any occasion de- 
manding it made himself effectively heard and felt. I 
never saw him really angry, and he seemed entirely de- 
void of resentment. Indeed, Jim was an unusually even- 
tempered, well-balanced man, remarkably free from the 
usual weaknesses of the flesh, and on the whole as attrac- 
tive as anyone I have ever known. 

He was very devoted to his family, an indulgent, loving 
husband and father, true to his friends, and possessing 
the faculty of binding them very closely to him. A genu- 
ine party man, he never wavered in support of the prin- 
ciples and policies of the Republican Party, in which he 
believed implicitly; and he was thoroughly loyal to his 
family, his friends, his party, and his country. 



[42] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

Mr. President, there are many sad things in connection 
with official life in Washington, and nothing sadder than 
the loss of such true, tried friends as James H. Davidson 
had always been to me. I can say of him, as I could of 
very few men outside of my immediate family, that I 
really loved him and felt the greatest personal loss when 
apprised of his untimely death. 



[43] 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Washington 

Mr. President: This Nation is not a pure democracy; it 
is a representative democracy. The people themselves do 
not legislate; they act through others. The whole theory 
of this Government is that it is one of delegated power. 
Senators and Representatives in Congress hold in trust the 
right to legislate for the people. Through them the people 
discharge the functions of government of a free people 
devoted to the principles of self-government. They are 
the agents of the people in the great task of government. 

No greater trust can be reposed in mortal man than to 
permit him to control and direct the property, the liberty, 
the life, and very destinies of another and of a free people. 
No higher honor can be bestowed by one upon another 
than to allow the one to speak for the other in the affairs 
of government. Therefore the position of Senator and 
Representative in Congress is the greatest honor and 
highest responsibility that can be bestowed in this Re- 
public. 

Some men become puffed up by the importance and 
dignity of the position they hold when intrusted with 
power. They lose sight of those who honor and trust 
them and dwell in the heaven of their own importance. 
Such men are unworthy of the honor and trust they enjoy 
and are unfitted to represent a free people. 

James H. Davidson was not this kind of a man. He was 
true and faithful to the trust reposed in him. He never 
forgot the people who honored him. He always remem- 
bered that he was their agent, their Representative. 
Their wants and their needs had every attention by him, 
and the humblest citizen gained his consideration just as 
freely as the highest, and even more so. He knew the 
responsibilities and duty of his position. His highest aim 

[44] 



Address of Mr. Jones, of Washington 

was to discharge them fully and serve those who trusted 
him in the most faithful way, with the welfare of his 
country as his highest aim and purpose. He was not a 
hrilliant man, but he was an able, trustworthy, conscien- 
tious, courageous, industrious worker, with an abundance 
of good, common sense. After all, this is what makes a 
Representative the best and most effective Representative. 

This man, whom we honor in this memorial service, 
was modest, true, faithful, and capable, and most earnestly 
strived to promote the welfare of the people of his dis- 
trict and of the country. 

To have been counted as one of his friends is a precious 
thing to me. Our association is a priceless memory. In 
personal character and manly qualities he was a man 
among men. He was kind, considerate, and gentle to a 
wonderful degree; yea, one can well use the word "lov- 
able " in describing him and his intercourse with those 
about him. His personal attributes will live in the mem- 
ory of his friends and loved ones until they, too, pass to 
the great beyond, whose mysteries he has solved. He 
has gone beyond the veil, but his sweet memory lives with 
us to spur us on to higher and better things. To-day we 
shed a tear to his memory, pay a feeble tribute to his 
virtues, and gain new strength by his example of duty 
well done. 



[45] 



Address of Mr. Robinson, of Arkansas 

Mr. President: The framers of the Constitution believed 
that while Senators in a sense should represent their 
States, Members of the House should be directly respon- 
sible to their constituencies and familiar with local as well 
as general issues. A short term, and consequent frequent 
elections, were believed to be the most reliable means of 
providing a legislative body truly representative of popu- 
lar opinion. 

The Senate was designed to be a conservative factor in 
the legislative machinery. The short term prescribed for 
Members of the House requires them to obtain frequent 
indorsements from the electors of their districts, and at 
the same time it gives electors an effective means of 
checking up their Congressmen and of supplanting them 
when occasion justifies. 

Nowithstanding the theory of short terms for Members 
of .the House of Representatives, everyone of experience 
realizes the value to the public of long service in Congress, 
especially at this time when legislative subjects have mul- 
tiplied and increased in perplexity. The people have 
come to know that experience in legislation is just as val- 
uable as in any other sphere of activity. 

Former Representative Davidson experienced long serv- 
ice in the popular branch of Congress. This service was 
characterized by conscientious discharge of duty. It was 
also marked by exceptional ability displayed in the pro- 
ceedings of committees and in debates upon the floor of 
the House. Many public men catch and hold attention 
through the promulgation of new theories or the cham- 
pionship of queer policies. They become associated with 
reforms, real or fancied, and advance to prominence with 
the progress of the cause with which they are allied. Mr. 



[46] 



Address of Mr. Robinson, of Arkansas 

Davidson had no fads. He was a sound, well-balanced, 
prudent legislator, content to reflect in his votes the en- 
lightened will of his constituency. His speeches disclosed 
fluency and attachment to exalted ideals. As a speaker 
he was eloquent and forceful. 

For many years he served with distinction and useful- 
ness on the Committee on Rivers and Harbors. His labors 
in that connection were marked by diligence and thor- 
oughness. He made frequent investigations of many 
projects claiming recognition in the bills reported by his 
committee, and his judgment respecting them was sound 
and fair. He earned the confidence of his colleagues. 
They habitually consulted him and frequently abided his 
conclusions on topics with which he was familiar and con- 
cerning which conditions afforded them little opportunity 
for more direct information. 

In the political landslide of 1912 Mr. Davidson was de- 
feated and remained out of Congress for four years. 
Upon his return to the House in 1917 Mr. Davidson was 
assigned to membership on the Committee on Military 
Affairs. Everyone here knows that, on account of the 
large membership in the House, Members usually have 
service on only one and never on more than two impor- 
tant committees at the same time, while in this body every 
Senator serves upon several important committees. This 
is one of the greatest difficulties we encounter. Fre- 
quently a Senator is called on the same day to attend 
three or four committee meetings, and sometimes these 
meetings have under consideration matters of vital conse- 
quence. Hardly any one of us, under the rules and prac- 
tices which have prevailed for a number of years respect- 
ing committee service, is able with the utmost diligence 
to perform his committee duties with that deliberation 
which is essential to the determination of great issues. 



[47] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

Mr. Davidson did not vote for the resolution declaring 
a state of war with Germany. He justified his action on 
the theory that the United States might avoid the con- 
flict and thus escape the loss which everyone knew must 
result from participation in the war. After war had 
been declared, however, he never failed in any instance to 
support by word and vote the cause of the Government 
and the measures of the administration in preparing for 
and in maintaining the conflict. 

His name is not associated with any one great statute, 
but his painstaking and conscientious devotion to duty 
are reflected in the important general legislation enacted 
by Congress during the period of his service. He was a 
practical, capable, faithful officer, prompt and efficient 
always in the discharge of duty. 



[481 



Address of Mr. Weeks, of Massachusetts 

Mr. President: I am glad to have an opportunity to bear 
a brief tribute to the memory of my old friend, James H. 
Davidson. He represented the sixth Wisconsin district in 
the House of Representatives for eight consecutive terms. 
After 16 years of service in Congress, due to the exigencies 
of unusual political conditions, he lost his seat and, after a 
brief interregnum, performed the rather unusual feat of 
coming back to the House. He would undoubtedly have 
held his seat in that body indefinitely but for his untimely 
death. 

We are familiar with the different types of Congress- 
men. Some men make brilliant speeches and base their 
reputations largely on that qualification. Others are espe- 
cially industrious in attending to the infinite details inci- 
dent to congressional life. The first qualification is desir- 
able, the second is necessary; but there is another feature 
of successful congressional service very much more im- 
portant from the public standpoint — the careful, prudent, 
industrious, and level-headed Member who regularly at- 
tends his committee meetings and brings to bear on the 
public questions there considered his best judgment and 
intelligence. Such men are real legislators. They are 
neither for or against measures until they have heard the 
evidence, and then carefully analyze the evidence sub- 
mitted to determine, without giving undue consideration 
to the requirements of their own constituents, what will 
be for the best interests of the most people. Those of us 
who have served a long time in Congress know how abso- 
lutely essential such men are in bringing about good legis- 
lative results. They are the wheel horses of Congress, and, 
while they seldom make speeches and even less often 

115670°— 19 4 [49] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

appear in the headlines of the press, they are invaluable 
in connection with the work of Congress. 

When I came to Washington, at the beginning of the 
Fifty-ninth Congress, Mr. Davidson had already served 
four terms, so that he was a comparatively old and experi- 
enced Member. I soon learned that he was one of the 
type I have attempted inadequately to describe. While a 
fluent and ready speaker, he seldom addressed the House 
except on occasions when measures reported by his own 
committees were under consideration and only then when 
it was necessary to do so in order to promote the enact- 
ment of legislation he thought should pass. 

Indeed, Mr. Davidson's whole life was the typical career 
we expect of those who have undertaken a profession and 
reached a place of importance in practicing it. His train- 
ing in the public schools, his later education, his experi- 
ence as a school-teacher, and his use of the proceeds from 
this occupation to acquire a knowledge of law and provide 
him a living during the early days of the practice of his 
chosen profession are familiar in the case of a very large 
percentage of the men who have reached positions of im- 
portance in the political world. 

Mr. Davidson always had the courage of his convictions, 
and his honesty of purpose and integrity were never once 
questioned by his associates in the other House. He 
voted against the declaration of war — an unpopular vote 
and one contrary to my own convictions — and yet not 
one of his colleagues interposed an objection to his ap- 
pointment to the important Committee on Military Af- 
fairs, a committee which, very largely at least, was to 
conduct the preparations for the war's efficient prosecu- 
tion. Nor did anyone doubt his loyalty to his country. 
He never tired in his efforts to prepare the Nation to take 
its place on the battle front in France and to bring victory 



[50] 



Address of Mr. Weeks, of Massachusetts 

to our arms. Undoubtedly his close application to the 
work of the war Congress helped to undermine his 
already failing health. 

I can make these general observations concerning the 
life of Congressman Davidson without reservation. I 
shall always recall with great pleasure the personal in- 
terest and friendship which existed between us. He was 
a good Republican, a loyal friend, and a devoted son of 
his adopted State. It is not too much to say, in my judg- 
ment, that a Congress made up of James H. Davidsons in 
efficiency, disinterested public service, and beneficial re- 
sults to all our people would be head and shoulders above 
any Congress which has served the Republic. 

To every man there openeth 

A way, and ways, and a way, 

And the high soul climbs the high way 

And the low soul gropes the low; 

And in between, on the misty flats, 

The rest drift to and fro. 

But to every man there openeth 

A high way and a low, 

And every man decideth 

The way his soul shall go. 

As Mr. Davidson saw the light he selected the high 
way — a way he consistently followed on earth — and if 
high purpose, honesty, and steadfastness are rewarded 
his soul has gone the high way it so richly deserved. His 
taking was to me a keen personal loss and a much larger 
one to the State and district he represented so well. 



[51] 



Address of Mr. Townsend, of Michigan 

Mr. President: It is a faithful saying that we never 
value our friends and associates at their true worth until 
they die. We live, labor, or otherwise associate with them 
and unconsciously, maybe, feel their qualities of mind and 
heart, but seldom do we acknowledge their qualities as 
individual characteristics. We would probably know if 
we would stop long enough to analyze and understand 
that they exist. Sometimes some men and women have 
such pronounced special virtues that they arrest our 
attention and we give them credit while they yet live; but 
the ordinary man, whose apparent aim is to live a manly 
life and who succeeds in doing it, is by his acquaintances 
regarded simply as a part of the machine of the body 
politic, which if destroyed by mortality can be replaced 
by the mechanician of time and fortune and no disturb- 
ance is felt. When, however, death comes the friends and 
relatives pause for a brief time and review the life that 
has gone out. This constitutes the chief value of memo- 
rials. The occasion is always tinged with personal sad- 
ness, for however good and great and happy the life of 
the departed may have been, however kind and con- 
siderate we may have been to him while he was amongst 
us, yet memory becomes active and it is not long before 
we recall opportunities which have come to us to show 
our appreciation of our friend but which we neglected to 
improve. Then we understand his nature and how we 
failed to recognize it when an honest demonstration of 
real friendship would have made his life brighter and 
sweeter. 

The men who have been long in Congress have become 
used to crepe-covered desks and flags at half-mast. The 



[52] 



Address of Mr. Townsend, of Michigan 



mortality rate in Congress is greater than in war or in a 
pestilence-stricken city. When I review my experience of 
15 years in Congress and call to memory the 2,000 dif- 
ferent Members I have known I am saddened by the long 
list of those who have been mustered out of active service 
and have passed into the great unknown from which 
somehow, someway, they came. I suppose that every 
man who comes to Congress believes that he made a mis- 
take in entering public life. If he is conscientious — and 
I believe that most Congressmen are — he will doubt at 
times that he has done as well for his constituents and 
country as some other man might have done and will 
wonder if it all is worth while, anyway. At such moments 
his greatest compensation is derived from the fact that 
he has come to know good men and that he has absorbed 
benefits from such knowledge which have made him a 
little bigger and perhaps a little broader and better. It 
is life's friendships that compensate for labor, sacrifice, 
and disappointments. If the offsets of neglected opportu- 
nities, of selfish disregard of others, is not too great, the 
balance of memory's pain and pleasure may not be writ- 
ten in red. 

Among the good men whom I first met in the Fifty- 
eighth Congress was James H. Davidson, from Oshkosh, 
Wis. He had been a Member of the National House 
of Representatives for six years when I entered. It has 
always seemed to me that the House membership of 
the Fifty-eighth Congress was the strongest that I have 
known. Certain it is that it contained many men of great 
and unusual ability. 

Congressman Davidson was not a brilliant orator or 
stongly inclined to publicity. He was modest almost to a 
fault, but he was recognized by his colleagues as an unusu- 
ally well-informed man, and his judgment was sought and 



[53] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Davidson 

prized. On river and harbor legislation he was an author- 
ity. Representative Rurton, of Ohio, was chairman of the 
committee which had charge of such legislation, but Mr. 
Davidson was second in command only, and he was 
always equipped with full knowledge on the subject. He 
was a wise and conscientious statesman, though not a pro- 
fessional progressive. His desire was to serve his people, 
who seven times expressed their confidence in him by 
electing him to Congress. He knew they trusted him and 
he did not feel it was necessary to neglect his duties to be 
performed according to the dictates of his well-informed 
judgment in order that he might keep his ear close to the 
ground. He knew that sometimes creeping, crawling, 
buzzing insects infest the ground and their noises might 
well confuse the voice of the people. He trusted his con- 
stituents and they reciprocated the trust. 

It is easy to exaggerate the good qualities of a friend at 
his funeral. Ry his friends I will not be accused of that 
fault when I say that James H. Davidson had the respect, 
confidence, and frequently the great admiration of all who 
knew him. It is especially true that his congressional col- 
leagues regarded him highly and affectionately. He was as 
incapable of dishonor as he was of disloyalty or cow- 
ardice. 

He was my personal friend and I was his, and as one 
who deeply regrets his death I pay my sincere tribute to 
his memory. He was one of the best men in Congress. 

This may not be the proper occasion to speak in detail 
of his family and home relations, but his life story could 
not be faithfully told without reference to his family, 
which he loved devotedly, and which returned to him their 
great affections. He was preeminently a domestic man. 
He found his greatest happiness and satisfaction in his 
home, surrounded by his devoted wife, his affectionate 



[54] 



Address of Mr. Townsend, of Michigan 

daughter, and his two worthy sons. Whether in his 
northern Wisconsin cottage, in his beautiful home in Osh- 
kosh, or in his apartment here in Washington, he was 
most truly happy only when his loved ones were with 
him. 

As I have said, I knew Mr. Davidson intimately and well. 
I have worked with him in Congress. I have visited him 
at his home, which was always overflowing with true hos- 
pitality. I knew something of the motives which domi- 
nated his thought and action, and I fear it will be long 
before I look upon his like again. 



[55] 



Address of Mh. Lenroot, of Wisconsin 

Mr. President: James H. Davidson had a long and hon- 
orable career in the House of Representatives. His value 
as a legislator was best known by those who knew him 
best and served upon committees with him. He was not 
often heard in debate, but when he did speak Members 
listened, for they knew whenever he addressed the House 
they would receive accurate information acquired after 
painstaking investigation. Early in his service he was as- 
signed to membership upon the Committee on Rivers and 
Harbors, and he made a specialty of the subject of our 
waterways. Few men in America had a better knowl- 
edge of the subject than he. In this field he was a mine of 
information. The important facts about every important 
waterway were stored away in his mind, to be called out 
upon a moment's notice. His view of waterway improve- 
ments was a national view. He was opposed to waste of 
money upon waterways that could not be justified from 
a commercial standpoint, but he recognized the great 
benefit to the country, as a whole, in the improvement of 
waterways upon which commerce could be carried 
cheaper than by rail. In his death the country has lost 
an authority upon the subject. 

He was respected by all his colleagues and loved by 
those who knew him well. During the many years that I 
knew him I never heard him speak ill of a living soul. He 
never knowingly hurt the feelings of any man. He was 
not as aggressive in public matters as his ability war- 
ranted, and I believe this was due to the fact that one can 
not be aggressive in public life without often unintention- 
ally hurting the feelings of those who differ with him. 
This he recognized, and I believe often deterred him from 
aggressive action. He had a friendly hand and genial 
smile for everyone. He was the soul of honor and had a 



[56] 



Address of Mr. Lenroot, of Wisconsin 



keen sense of public duty. Every vote cast by Jim David- 
son, as bis friends affectionately called him, was a vote 
cast according to his conscience. He studied every question 
and sought only to find the right way. No one who may 
have differed with his conclusions ever questioned his 
motive. They knew he was doing what he thought was 
right. 

To new Members coming into the House he was espe- 
cially helpful. He sought them out, assisted them in every 
way possible, and out of his rich experience rendered them 
invaluable service. 

His domestic life was perfect. He was a devoted hus- 
band and father and his family worshiped him. His was 
an ideal American home. 

Mr. President, the true measure of a man is made by 
those who know him best, and, so measured, James 
Davidson was a true man. It is not what the world at 
large may say of us, but it is what those who know us best 
really think of us that counts. Those of us who served 
with him know in what esteem his colleagues held him. 
Those of us who attended his funeral know of the regard 
his neighbors and townspeople had for him. The entire 
city mourned. They realized even more deeply than we 
that a devoted husband and father, a kindly neighbor, a 
loved townsman, a friend of all mankind, had been taken 
to dwell in God's eternal city, there to wait a while for a 
reunion with his loved ones which should never end. 

Mr. Watson. Mr. President, in accordance with arrange- 
ments heretofore made, I now move that, as a further 
mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator 
and Representatives, the Senate take a recess until to- 
morrow morning at 10 o'clock. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 3 
o'clock and 40 minutes p. m., Sunday, March 2) the Senate 
took a recess until to-morrow, Monday, March 3, 1919, at 
10 o'clock a. m. 

[57] 



